A first time pda user's impression | HP iPAQ 111 Classic Handheld (FA979AA#ABA) (110 Series)

Easy even for me | HP iPAQ 111 Classic Handheld (FA979AA#ABA) (110 Series)

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	• HP iPAQ 111 Classic Handheld (FA979AA#ABA) (110 Series) Hewlett Packard Hewlett Packard average customer review:based on 79 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Good PDA

I got this as a replacement for a previous iPAQ that had a screen failure after 3 years. Mobile Office is nice addition though there were no "Wow" applications or functions.

A first time pda user's impression

Having never used a pda this was an entirely new experience for me and I have no context to which to compare it to.
So take that for what its worth.
Battery life is the biggest negative.
Ease of use is the biggest positive.
A crystal clear display majes this a pleasure on the eyes.
The sylus is a little awkward to get to but get over it.
I have not, todate, successfully connected to a wifi zone and navigated the internet. Always get some kind of error. Nothing is automatic and you need to read manuals and know things I have no interest in learning about. At home, it somehow completely ruined my pc's access and I had to restore the system to a checkpoint to get it to work again.
So the automation of wifi and internet useage is still a mystery to me.
Loading active sync onto the pc is more overhead we don't need running on our overly taxed machines.
Why can't there be thin client application to interact with these little devices.
I added a little memory card you can pick up for under 10 dollars if you shop around which added 2 gig to storage. You will need this if you want to use the machine. The time has come to have included this cheap little plastic chip considering we spend close to 300 bucks for this little toy.

The applications seem to work pretty easily.
The pdf viewer opens pdf files but they are pretty difficult to read since the pdf documents are only going to display a small area of their text while using it.
It's limited - what else can I say.
I have very little interest nor do I understand why others want to shlep hardware around on their bodies making running awkward.
The leather case it comes with does not clip onto your belt and I had to cough up another 25 bucks to buy a leather case.

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Easy even for me

My first foray into the world of PDAs has been very pleasant with this iPaq 111. It's sleek and easy to manage, and I know I'm not using it nearly as much as I could (or in all the ways that I could).

I have only two complaints -- one: maaaan, it sucks down battery power like a starving man at a buffet, and two: I have not yet figured out all the nuances of downloading email attachments to the folder of my choice. But I'm a novice yet, and time will tell.

Meanwhile, I can heartily recommend this (except for the battery-suckage, cuz, sheesh) to other PDA newbies.

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a bit pricey but a step up from Palm

My Palm Tungsten E 2 died (quit taking stylus input) so I was in the market for a new PDA. I was basically satisfied with my Palm, but wasn't thrilled with the regular reboots needed, occasional sync issues, etc. I didn't want to pay the accompanying monthly fees for internet access through a smart phone, even though I would like to carry just one device. So I looked at the IPAQ, and eventually swallowed hard, paid the extra $ and bought it.

I've had it about a month now and am used to using it.

I like the feel of the IPAQ, I like the screen, I like the software included (Word, Excel). I wish it had a notepad like the Palm (where instead of keying in words I can scribble a note in regular handwriting, not graffiti, and transcribe later). It's a handy device that does what it's supposed to do. I don't really use the Outlook email on the device, except to refer to email that's been synced from my laptop. And though I guess it'll be occasionally nice to have internet through my wi-fi connection, which seems to work pretty well, I don't think the internet on such a small screen will ever be something I'll get into. My usage of this feature will be no doubt sporadic, as web pages on such a small screen leave much to be desired.

The one big problem I have, and haven't been able to fix, is syncing while Zone Alarm is running. After going through the sync process several times, and trying the Windows mobile help fix, which didn't help at all, I just disabled Zone Alarm, and then was able to sync. Now, I have to do that each time I sync, which is a bit of a hassle, but manageable.

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Cautionary note on the Marvell WiFi in the iPaq 111

A cautionary note for anyone looking to use the iPaq 111 as a WiFi scanner or survey tool -- the WiFi driver does NOT properly report the channel to any of the common scanning utilities.

The Marvell SDIO8686 chipset reports the channel as "858512" for all channels. If you are relying on the unit as a survey tool, you are going to end up with bad data. A case opened with HP Support 4/22/08 has only gotten a "we'll look into it" response, and a hint that their might be a firmware update "coming soon".

If you rely on your scanner/stumbler/surveyor, make sure you try your utilities out first before buying this unit!

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